


Bait

by RedTeamShark



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Achievement City, Alternate Universe - Achievement Hunter Kings, Alternate Universe - Minecraft, Animal Death, Gen, Kidnapping, Mad King Ryan, Mood Whiplash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 19:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7904920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTeamShark/pseuds/RedTeamShark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael may have won the crown and the right to the throne the next time the gang played King, but that didn’t mean that a previous ruler was going to give up the title so easily. And the Mad King had just the plan to re-secure his crown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bait

“Ryan, you’re the redstone expert. Why do you need me to help?” The man dressed as a Creeper scratched the back of his head, frowning around the small dirt building known as ‘Kung Fu House’ and trying not to step on the glass blocks that kept Edgar the cow trapped.

“It’ll go faster with two people, is all, and Geoff’s busy. I’ll do the complicated circuitry, I just need you to place the blocks and do some testing for me.” Pulling his redstone from a chest, the older man offered a smile. “We’ll be done in no time.”

Gavin shrugged, taking some of the offered supplies and loading them into his backpack. “Maybe we should bev up while we’re at it, make it a real Let’s Build.”

“If you want to.” Ryan, however, didn’t take any alcohol out of his chest. Instead he left the house, beckoning Gavin to follow him away from Achievement City. “It’s going to be a pretty quick job, though.”

They were unobserved as they left, the other Achievement Hunters busy with various tasks that had taken them away from the city as well. Ryan led Gavin out through the forests, towards the arena they called the Throne Room. It was quiet in this area, empty of people. Most of the resources directly surrounding the Throne Room had been eradicated during various games. Hardly anyone came out here when they weren’t playing.

“What could you want to build here?” Gavin questioned, drawing his bow and looking around nervously. He’d had far too many run-ins with creatures in the area to relax.

“It’s a surprise for the next King. Don’t ruin the surprise, okay?” The pair entered the throne room, Gavin taking a guarding position with his bow at the ready as Ryan looked around, apparently choosing the perfect spot.

“Is this, like, a tradition or something? You leave a surprise for the next King?” He questioned, getting bored with guard duty and beginning to shoot arrows in random directions. He tilted back, wondering if he could fire one to the top of the spire he’d built during Ryan’s reign as king. Before he could let fly, however, the kilt-wearing man was prodding him in the shoulder.

“Come on, quit screwing around, we have work to do.”

Gavin sighed, slowly releasing the tension on his bow and putting it away, getting out his redstone. He followed instructions, not once questioning it as Ryan had him build an enclosure.

“Hey, Gavin, hand me one of your arrows.” He instructed, reaching into the pit the younger was standing in and taking the offered arrow. He dropped in a few cooked steaks, shrugging. “You can keep those. Dunno why I had them on me.”

Looking up, a realization suddenly came to Gavin. “Ryan, why are we building an obsidian pit in the middle of the Throne Room? I don’t have a diamond pickaxe on me.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t need one.” Ryan smiled down at him, the look suddenly devious. “You’re not supposed to get out of the hole.”

Real panic struck then, the green-clad male scrambling to escape the pit, finding it just deep enough that he couldn’t grasp the edges and haul himself out. He gasped, trying to calm himself down, looking up in time to see Ryan walking towards the throne. With a dark chuckle, he ascended the stairs, taking the crown that rested on top—that crown that would be Michael’s the next time they played King—and settling it crooked onto his head. He moved down the stairs again, crouching at the edge of the pit. A wide smile stretched across his face, all turmoil and impending blood. The Mad King was back.

“I’m going to close you in now, Gavin.”

“Ryan, please, don’t do this!”

“Relax. You have plenty of food. You’ll be fine down there until he comes to get you.”

“Who? What are you talking about? Th-this isn’t funny, let me out!” Real panic was back, making his voice tremble. Gavin rifled desperately through his bag for anything that might help him escape as the ceiling was closed in above him.

Just before placing the last block, Ryan looked down, offering a smile with no sympathy. “Michael, of course. You’re like Mogar bait, Gavin. Where you go, he’ll follow.” The block settled into place and Gavin fought down a sob of panic as the dark closed him in.

–

The others were back in Achievement City when Ryan returned, whistling softly to himself as he walked alongside the railroad tracks. He could hear their voices as he emerged from the forest, calling happily to each other with results of the day’s work. The kilt-wearing Achievement Hunter slowed down, surveying the other four from the distance. Michael was the only one who’s attention was focused away from the city, looking around towards the outskirts. Probably searching for Gavin.

Skirting around the small hub city, Ryan walked along the back of Geoff’s giant monolith of a house. He found the ladder and began to ascend it, wishing he’d dropped some of his supplies at the bottom as his heavy backpack weighed him down. Still, this way no one would realize he was there as soon as he was above the cloud level, which was fast approaching.

Finally at the top, he unslung his pack, making sure to stay far away from the edges of the building as he worked. He carefully crushed some redstone into dust, mixing it with water to form a crude sort of rust-colored ink. Drawing a quill and paper from his bag next, he carefully wrote a message in the ink, making sure to disguise his writing as much as possible just in case someone recognized it. He waited for the ink to dry as the sun set, smiling to see it begin glowing faintly in the dark. The growing dark made him think of Gavin, down in that obsidian hole… Maybe he should have left him a torch. Too late to go back now, though.

With the ink dry, Ryan carefully removed the arrow he had taken from Gavin earlier—recognizable as the sandy-haired man’s property by the obnoxiously green fletchings—and stuck the tip through the paper. He stood then, moving carefully to the edge of the building and looking down. Everyone seemed to be in their homes, torchlight glowing from the windows. He surveyed the city, watching for any sort of movement. Nothing. Perfect.

Knocking the arrow and drawing back the bow, Ryan carefully sighted Michael’s small wooden home. He exhaled slowly, looking down his arm and lining up his shot as perfectly as possible (he was no Gavin, true, but he thought he could do this—a straight shot on a still night wasn’t too hard). Relaxing his fingertips, he let the arrow fly, imagining he could hear the faint _thunk_ of it hitting Michael’s front door.

He stepped away from the edge of the roof, hurrying to the back and beginning to descend the wooden ladder. By the time he was on the ground and rounding the corner to his house, Michael had everyone in the center of the city, yelling in a cracked, panicked voice.

“The fuck is going on?” Ray questioned, trying to lean over Michael’s shoulder and read the faintly glowing note. He frowned in displeasure as his efforts were aborted, the bear-skin wearing man turning away and shaking the paper at Geoff.

“Someone _took him_! Look!” Michael held up the arrow Ryan had just stuck to his door, shaking it. “This is one of Gavin’s! He’s the only one that uses that obnoxious lime dye on his feathers!”

“Who would take Gavin, though?” Jack asked, tapping his pickaxe against the ground. “It’s only us here.”

“I don’t know!” As Ryan approached the group, Michael turned to him, his eyes wide. “Ryan! Someone’s taken Gavin!”

“Probably _was_ Ryan.” Geoff muttered, snatching the note from Michael and holding it up. “Nah, this isn’t his handwriting.” He declared, passing the note on to Ray.

“Man, that’s some creepy shit. ‘If you ever want your Creeper again, Mogar comes alone to arena of Kings and Champions.’ Like, where even _is_ that?” Ray frowned, handing the note over to Jack.

“The arena of Kings and Champions…” The bearded man repeated, passing the note on to Ryan. “Sounds like the Throne Room. I mean, that’s where we play the King games.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Ray muttered, sarcasm heavy in his voice. “I know what it is, but _where_ is it?” The four other men looked to Geoff, who sighed heavily.

“You guys are fuckin’ dumb.” He stretched, armor creaking slightly. “Behind Michael’s house. Follow the tracks to the ocean, then head straight inland. You’ll recognize it because there ain’t dicks over there for resources anymore.” He paused, tapping his chin in thought. “I really gotta get around to replenishing that place.”

Michael was turned away from the group, heading for his house. “Where are you going?” Jack called after him, the four gathered in the center of the city turning to watch him leave.

“I’m rescuing Gavin, where the fuck do you think I’m going?!” He called back, slamming into his house and beginning to rifle through chests. His heart was pounding, panic kept just at bay by anger. Whoever had done this, he was going to have their fucking head on a spike.

“Michael, calm down!” Ryan called after him, sighing and turning to address the three men still standing with him. “We need to form a plan. Having Michael just run in there blind isn’t going to work.”

“You want to stop him?” Ray questioned, jerking a thumb towards Michael as he left his house. He had his diamond sword strapped to his side, and was trying to pull on a diamond helmet, boots, and chestplate all at once. “Hey, you forgot pants, buddy!” The man in the tuxedo called over, answered by a cuss and Michael turning back towards his house.

“Pants before shoes!” Geoff called after him, receiving only a raised middle finger in return.

“I’ll go with him.” Ryan offered, holding up the note. “Look, Gavin’s dumb, but he’s not _this_ dumb. Whatever’s happening, he obviously can’t get himself out of it. I’ll at least try to get a strategy into his head.”

Geoff was nodding, lifting his helmet and pulling it back on. He stood up straighter, taking what everyone referred to as his ‘leadership stance.’ “Sounds good. Ryan, you’ll go with Michael. Ray, Jack, grab some maps. Someone else is here besides the six of us, and we need to figure out what’s going on.”

“Think its Caleb?” Ray muttered as he turned towards his house to get a map. “I mean, motivation, right?”

Geoff and Jack only shrugged, turning towards the own houses to get supplies. “Don’t forget torches!” Ryan called after them, jogging across the city and standing outside Michael’s door.

Michael emerged a few seconds later, his anger clearly having taken over his panic by now. “Ryan, you’re not going to stop me from going after him.” He growled out, turning and beginning to walk along the railroad tracks.

“Nah, I’m not trying to. I’m coming with you.” The older man set a hand on his armored shoulder, slowing him down just slightly. “Look, I get that you’re Mogar and you want to go charging in and rescue Gavin, but at least consider some strategy. That place is totally exposed, there’s no cover going in. And you don’t know the area that well—“

“Like you do?” Michael snapped back, shrugging out of Ryan’s touch and picking up his pace. “You get lost just as much as I do!”

“Hey, I’m not your enemy here!” Ryan’s voice was harsher than he intended, but it had the desired effect. Michael’s shoulders slumped, his pace slowing on its own now.

“I know, I just… I’m worried, okay? Gavin’s like a little kid, he needs looking after.”

Ryan nodded, offering a sympathetic smile. “He can take care of himself, Michael. He’s been right here for all the adventures we’ve gone on, no matter how dangerous. He was slaying the Ender Dragon right along with us, remember?”

Michael’s fists clenched at his sides, his gaze drifting away along the tracks. “It’s dark.” He finally answered, turning and beginning to walk again. “Even if the area is exposed, we’ll be able to use the darkness as cover. No moon tonight.”

The pair made their way along the tracks, following Geoff’s instructions and turning inland at the ocean. Soon they came to the edge of a wide, empty patch of land, the front gate of the Throne Room lit up in the distance. Ryan set a hand on Michael’s shoulder as the armored man started to move forward, shaking his head and gesturing him backwards.

“Let’s split up, circle the area and check it out. There might be a better way in than right through the front gate.” He whispered, nodding to his left. “You go around that way, I’ll go right. We’ll meet back here when we’re done.”

Michael agreed, clenching his sword at his side and stalking off through the sparse forest. Ryan waited until he was out of sight, chuckling and shaking his head. He turned back to the front, walking casually up to the throne room and inside. He climbed the wide red carpeting to the top of the throne, lifting the crown and placing it on his head again. “The reign of the Mad King will never end…” He muttered, fingers twitching on a number of buttons that he had recently installed in the arm of the throne. He tapped one, a block far below moving aside.

“Hello?” Gavin’s voice, hoarse but hopeful, called out from the hole. “Is someone there? Ryan? This isn’t funny anymore, let me out!”

“I can’t let you out just yet, Gavin.” Ryan answered with a laugh. “But go ahead and scream nice and loud for me, while someone can still hear you.”

“Ryan! Just let me out, this—this isn’t funny!”

“Scream like you mean it, Gavin, before I decide to give you some _real_ motivation. You don’t know what I put in those dispensers down there, do you?”

“What did you do?!” Gavin’s voice was growing shrieky with panic, slightly choked with possible tears. “I don’t understand, what’s going on?!”

“If this is the way you want it…” Ryan answered, voice dripping with mock-regret. He hit another button, a brief glow issuing from the hole in the ground, followed by a full-volume shriek of incoherent panic from Gavin.

“It’s on fire!” He heard the Creeper-dressed man shout as he pressed the button to close up the room again. Moments later Michael was climbing over the wall, just as he’d expected. His sword was out, his eyes trying to be everywhere at once.

Ryan stood atop the throne, clapping softly and laughing. “Well done, Mogar!” He called, drawing the brown-eyed man’s attention to him. Michael charged for the stairs, stopping dead when Ryan held up a hand.

“Not so quickly, now. You really don’t think things through. Gavin is here somewhere, waiting for you to rescue him. He really is like bait for you.” He sat down again, crossing one leg over the other and resting his chin in his palm, other hand running over the buttons on the side of the throne. “I’ve made some modifications to the Arena, you see. A false move from you and I can easily send an army of zombies after him while he’s undefended and trapped. Or I could send Creepers… or perhaps some irritated Zombie Pigmen.” He chuckled, running his fingertips over the buttons as Michael stared up at him with fire in his eyes.

“Or I could fire arrows at him from multiple directions at once. He might dodge one or two, but six? Twelve? How would he fare against that, hm?”

“You let him go!” Michael shouted, pointing his sword at Ryan. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing at, you crazy bastard, but _you let him go_!”

“If you want your boy to ever see the sun again, you’ll do as I say.” That caused Michael to stop, his eyes widening slightly. “That’s a good boy. Put away the sword.” Slowly, the diamond sword slipped from Micheal’s fingertips, clattering to the carpet under his feet. “Good enough. Next, take off your armor.” Piece by piece, Michael removed the armor, his hands shaking slightly. Finally, he stood before Ryan, still looking decidedly ready to kick ass in his bear-fur jacket and shorts.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, the loud rage in his voice replaced by something quieter, but much deadlier. “What’s the point of all of this?”

“Oh, you know.” Ryan waved a hand dismissively. “A Mad King has trouble giving up his throne.”

“But I didn’t take the crown from you, Ray did! I won it from Ray!” Confusion caused Michael’s voice to rise, his gaze growing dark as Ryan chuckled. “What did you do to Ray?”

“Things you’ll never want to think about.” The crowned man answered around his laughter. He clapped his hands, dismissing the conversation. “Come now, I’m growing bored. Let’s see how the brave Mogar fairs without his weapons and armor. How quickly will you turn into… Rungar, wasn’t it?”

“I can take you on even with my bare hands!” Michael shot back, clenching his fists at his sides at Ryan’s continued laughter.

“I didn’t say anything about taking _me_ on.” He nodded towards the entrance of the Throne Room, where a Creeper was standing just on the other side of the gate. “Kill it.”

Michael turned, observing the monster, thinking about his odds. If he could bait it into exploding without being too close to it… He stepped forward slowly, taking a deep breath. He’d have to get close enough to set it off and run at the last possible second, or it wouldn’t explode.

“Oh, and Michael?” Ryan called as he stepped towards the monster. “If it explodes before you kill it, I’m going to set off a fire charge next to Gavin.”

Well, shit, there went his strategy. But how the fuck was he supposed to kill the thing without setting it off in the first place?

Having no other choice, he darted forward, beginning to pummel the creature with his bare hands. He skipped backwards every time it began to hiss and flash, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t explode. He couldn’t let Gavin be tortured like that, he just _couldn’t_. Not his best friend, his boy, the other half of Team Nice Dynamite.

The fight dragged on, Michael’s reflexes starting to slow down as he darted in and out to attack. Finally, he dealt the final blow to the creature, wiping sweat off his brow as it went down, turning towards the sound of Ryan’s sedate clapping. The Mad King had collected his dropped sword and armor at some point, and now held the diamond blade across his lap.

“A true fighter, Michael.” Ryan commented dryly, tapping his fingertips on the arm rest, just next to the buttons. “I suppose you think you’ve earned a reward now.”

“Just cut the shit and let Gavin go! I did what you wanted!” He watched Ryan’s fingertips pause, apparently over a button. The man narrowed his blue eyes, looking down at the still somewhat winded fighter.

“You move from that spot and he’ll be in a lot of pain.” Ryan whispered, tapping the button and allowing the ground above Gavin to open briefly.

“Hello?” Gavin called out immediately, fear making his voice crack slightly. “Ryan, this… this really isn’t funny, please!”

Michael froze, his mouth gaping open. Even if Ryan hadn’t threatened to hurt Gavin if he’d moved, he couldn’t have made his legs respond to his brain. Somehow he’d thought it’d been a joke, some prank that the two had decided to pull on him. Even when he’d been fighting the Creeper, he’d figured that if things went wrong Ryan would just laugh it off and Gavin would come out from his hiding spot and they’d be fine. The scream earlier had worried him, but as soon as he’d seen Ryan on the Throne he’d figured it was all staged.

Now, hearing Gavin’s voice perfectly clearly, realization clicked firmly into place. This wasn’t a game, not to Gavin and definitely not to him. It might have been to Ryan, but it wasn’t the kind of game Michael wanted to play. He swallowed thickly, never taking his eyes off the blue gaze high above him. “Gavin, it’s me, boy. It’s Michael.”

“Michael!” Gavin shouted, relieved and terrified all at once. “Get me out of here, Ryan’s gone mental!”

“I… I’m working on it.” He finally tore his gaze away from Ryan’s, looking at the hole that had opened up in the ground, carefully calculating his options. “Just stay calm, okay, Gav? Promise me that.”

“I’ll try, but… hurry up, okay? Sucks down here.” And by some sort of miracle, there seemed to be _humor_ in Gavin’s tone suddenly. Michael’s chest tightened again, even if the sound should have made him hopeful. Gavin really was relying on him, confident he’d save the day. He couldn’t let the other man down.

“Say goodbye now, Gavin.” Ryan’s voice dragged Michael’s attention back, his fingers tapping the button and closing the hole in the earth. Michael watched his hand move, frowning slightly. There were so many damn buttons on that chair, how did the other man ever keep them straight?

The two regarded each other, Mad King and unwilling subject, in the redstone glow of the Throne Room. Finally, Ryan stood, rubbing his hands on his thighs and descending the steps. He clapped a hand to Michael’s shoulder as he passed him, leaning in close.

“There’s only so much air down there, you know.” He whispered, barely breaking stride, his fingertips trailing over the furred coat the other male wore before dropping away. He kept walking, not looking back, voice rising again as he did. “Follow me, then, for your next task.”

Michael hesitated, looking at the throne, wondering if he’d be able to press the right button to let Gavin out. It might be worth a shot, he could probably figure it out and—

“Every button except one will put him through some sort of torment, you know. Fire, arrows, monsters… One of them floods the room. One makes the walls close in. One opens the floor, and there’s nothing but an empty pit below.” Ryan’s voice made Michael turn, the younger man swallowing hard before stepping after him. “Are those risks you’re willing to take?”

“Just tell me what to do.”

“In due time. Follow me, now.” Still not looking back, Ryan led Michael through the pre-dawn, away from the throne room and into the colder regions of Achievement City. It was a far walk, the sun completely over the eastern horizon when they finally stopped. Michael looked down, surveying the area below them: a small, grassy valley between two snowy mountains, cows wandering peacefully through it, contentedly eating grass in the early light.

Ryan withdrew Michael’s diamond sword from his side, holding it out to the younger. “Slay them.  And make sure you tell each one that you do this in the name of the Mad King Ryan.”

Hesitantly taking the offered blade, the auburn-haired man could only stare, eyes slightly wide. “You really are fucking crazy…” He muttered, looking from the Mad King to his sword to the field of cows. What the hell was it with Ryan and cows, anyways?

“Perhaps so, perhaps not. Does it matter if I’m crazy or not, when I’m the man with the button?”

“…Did you just paraphrase an _Army of Darkness_ quote?”

“Eh, maybe.” Ryan shrugged, before gesturing to the valley below them. “Now kill, Mogar. Kill even those that you try to protect.”

“Dude.” Michael sighed, beginning down the hill. “You are _really_ fucking weird.”

Slaying cows was physically easier than fighting a Creeper to the death bare-handed. What bothered him was the somewhat pathetic noises of pain they made with every blow. There was nothing he could do, however… Gavin needed him, it was Gavin he had to think of.

“The Mad King sends his regards…” Michael whispered, bringing his sword through the neck of one of the animals, watching it drop to the ground, eyes rolling frantically as its legs spasmed once before it was dead. He moved on, glad that so far he hadn’t caused a panic. Getting trampled to death wouldn’t do him any good.

After maybe thirty minutes, he stopped, blood falling from his sword and clothes, his breath coming a little heavily. He’d given up on creative sayings pretty quickly, instead keeping to a simple ‘Ryan sent me’ before slitting the throat of the animal before him, even that devolving into just ‘Yeah, Ryan’ by the end. The task completed, Michael made his way back up the hill to where Ryan stood, hands on his hips and gaze on the younger like a proud father.

“Well done.” He spoke quietly, turning back towards the way they had come.

“Is that enough for you now?!” Michael demanded, watching Ryan’s back, feeling the comfortable weight of the diamond sword in his hand. It would be so easy… but Ryan knew what button would set Gavin free. Ryan and perhaps no one else.

“Do you think it is?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know what you want from me! Why are you even doing this?!” He followed along, feet dragging through the snow. He reeked of blood, the smell not bothering him but the connection to his earlier actions making him somewhat sick. Killing monsters was one thing, and even playfully attacking his friends during games, when healing was plentiful, was fun. What he’d done… what he’d seen… Michael never wanted to take the life of something unnecessarily. The thought of what he’d done was a heavy one, something he’d have to come to terms with in time.

The pair arrived back at the Throne Room by early afternoon, the sun high and hot above them as Ryan climbed the stairs once again. “There’s one final task for you, Michael.”

Michael’s shoulders slumped, his gaze dropping to the ground. “Just tell me.”

“You’ll kneel before me and pledge fealty to me as your king.”

That caused him to snap out of his thoughts, eyes shooting upwards. “ _What_?”

“Did I stutter? Pledge yourself to me. Your loyalty and strength will be my tools to use. You’ll acknowledge me as the true king around here.” Ryan crossed his arms, nodding down to Michael. “Kneel before me and do it.”

_Ryan is fucking crazy…_ Michael decided, slowly dropping to one knee, bowing his head. “So, uh… I pledge myself to you, King Ryan. Like, my loyalty belongs to you. My strength is yours to use and stuff.” He waited, holding his breath against panic. If Gavin wasn’t okay… if Ryan backed out on letting him go.

“Good enough. Stand.” Blue eyes surveyed him as Michael rose to his feet, cold and appraising. His fingertips hovered over the buttons again, before he depressed one. The hole in the ground opened immediately. Michael froze in place, looking from the hole to Ryan. “What a good subject. Go to him.” The Mad King nodded, leaning back as the auburn-haired man ran towards the hole in the ground.

“Gavin!” He called, dropping to his knees and reaching in. Gavin’s hands closed over his arm immediately, the younger man nearly pulling him into the hole. “Hey, hey, easy does it, boy. C’mon, I’ll pull you out.”

“Michael, just get me out of here!” Gavin cried, gripping onto Michael’s arm and allowing himself to be hauled out of the hole. The two stumbled away from it, collapsing onto the grass. Gavin gasped in the warm air, stretching out on his back and trembling slightly.

“It’s alright, you’re out now…” Michael whispered, patting his arm lightly. He lay in the sun next to his friend, trying to calm himself down. Having Gavin here next to him was such a relief…

A shadow fell over them, a deep voice laughing quietly, causing the sandy-haired man to cringe and duck behind his rescuer. Michael sat up, looking up at Ryan again as the man stood before them.

“Of course…” He began, pacing back and forth in front of the pair. “You’ll speak of this to no one. It was all a game, wasn’t it, Gavin?”

“You locked me in a bloody hole!”

Michael reached behind him, setting a hand on Gavin’s arm. His gaze stayed locked on Ryan. “It was a game.” He agreed quietly, squeezing Gavin’s arm to silence him when the other man started to say something.

“Of course it was. And now… I think I’ll take a stroll back to Achievement City. You two can come along in your own time… Perhaps after you decide where we’ve been all night, hm?” Ryan turned away, exiting the Throne Room without further comment.

Michael turned towards Gavin, looking him over and offering a slight smile. “It’s alright.” He whispered, giving the other man’s scarf a light tug. “I rescued you, just like I always will.”

“I don’t understand. What’s going on? It wasn’t a damn game, he tried to kill me!”

There wasn’t an explanation he felt like giving, not at the moment. Instead Michael gave Gavin a light shove, getting to his feet and offering his hand immediately. “For now, we’ll say that it was a prank you pulled on me, okay? It’ll have to do to explain it.”

Gavin took the offered hand, hauling himself to his feet and frowning. After a moment, he nodded. “Fine. But you’re going to tell me what’s going on later. Things are weird.”

“Hey, you’re the one that started the whole ‘Mad King Ryan’ thing.” Michael shot back, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket and heading for the gates. “C’mon, I’m starving. You must be hungry too, right?”

“Oh, I, uh… had some food in there. Sorry, I would have saved you a steak—“

“It’s fine.”

The pair were mostly quiet as they walked back to Achievement City, each lost in his own thoughts. Michael’s were primarily focused around what he’d done to finally get Gavin out of that hole.

What did pledging loyalty to the Mad King really mean? Was it a game, or had he done something irreversible?

He’d have to wait and find out.


End file.
